User blog:Pinkguy the b0ss/Super Mario Land Review
What's up my Shreks, and... wow, that was a short wait. This time, I'm reviewing another 2D Mario game - Super Mario Land. Now for a short history before we begin. This game was developed by Nintendo R&D1, the same team that made the Game Boy hardware. The company wanted a new Mario game for the Game Boy's launch, alongside the killer app Tetris. However, since Shigeru Miyamoto was busy with the development of Super Mario World and Link to the Past, development was handed to R&D1. Since the game was not directed by Miyamoto, it felt very different from the other Mario games at the time. This game was soon released in 1989 to massive success. In fact, it actually sold more copies than Super Mario Bros. 3! It's hard to believe, I know, but it's true. Anyways, now on to the actual subject of this post - my thoughts on this game. If you've ever read any of my other posts, then you'd know that I've previously reviewed the sequel to this game, Super Mario Land 2 : Six Golden Coins. In short, I absolutely love that game. In fact, it's in my personal top five favorite Mario games. My love for that game inspired me to play its predecessor... Super Mario Land, obviously. Anyways, in this review, I'll discuss my thoughts and see how this game compares to its successor, and by extension, the other 2D Mario games. Does this game manage to match the quality of Mario Land 2? Is it better? Is it even a worthwhile game in general? Let's find out. Story In this game, Mario hears news of an evil alien named Tatanga that took over the four kingdoms of Sarassaland and kidnapped its ruler, Princess Daisy, making her debut appearance. Mario now has to make his way through the four kingdoms, defeat Tatanga, and save Daisy. It's fairly standard for a Mario plot, just with a differing location and characters. I'd say it works, even though it isn't the most original Mario story ever. Graphics Obviously, since this game is a Game Boy game from 1989, its visuals aren't all that groundbreaking. Like all other Game Boy games, they're in black and white. The visuals are also fairly simple, with small sprites and rudimentary backgrounds. Despite this, though, I still find the visuals to be appealing. For one, the art direction is unique for a Mario game, featuring an Egyptian-inspired desert, a Seaside cliff, an Easter Island-inspired area, and a Bamboo forest. The enemies are also unique - Koopas explode when you jump on them, bullet bill cannons pop out of pipes, and there are plenty of enemies themed after the kingdoms. This makes the game rather distinct and memorable. Soundtrack This game has a great soundtrack. It isn't the best Mario soundtrack, and doesn't beat out the likes of Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and Super Mario Land 2, but it's a great collection of songs in its own right. Every song, from the famous Birabuto Kingdom theme, the atmospheric Ruins theme, the calming Muda Kingdom, the exciting shoot-em-up level theme, and the glorious Chai Kingdom theme, each song is memorable in its own way. Needless to say, this is another of my favorite 8-bit game soundtracks. Gameplay The gameplay, like all other 2D Mario games, is simple - reach the end of the level and beat the boss at the end of the world. Since I love 2D Mario, this game is my kind of territory. I won't mince words when I say that this game is one of the best 2D Mario games I've ever played. The level design is extremely well-done and well within the quality standard of the Mario series, and because of this, this game is fun as hell to play. However, I have a few minor issues with this game I'll discuss now. For one, the controls feel different to most other 2D Mario games. In this game, Mario's jump momentum works differently to other games in the series, and he feels a bit heavier than usual. It felt a bit strange at first, but with some time I managed to adjust to it and it doesn't really bother me anymore. Overall, this game controls well, but it will take some adjustment if you're used to how the other games feel. Second, the game has limited continues and no save feature. Normally, this is something I don't like, but Super Mario Land takes the correct approach to this design philosophy. For one, you're given a chance to earn extra lives if you hit the top exit in each level, which isn't that hard to do. In addition, the levels are plastered with lives and coins. But the thing that almost completely makes the limited continues a non-issue is the game's short length. This game is only twelve levels long and can be beaten in about half an hour. Because of this, having to redo the whole game upon a game over is not that bad of a punishment. This is opposed to Sonic 1 and 2, where the limited continues only served to make the games artificially longer and more frustrating, but I digress. Another (albeit minor) flaw is the occasional camera issue. For the most part, the visibility is great because of the small sprites, contrast between sprites and backgrounds, and generally well-thought out enemy placement built around these limitations. However, on some rare occasions, some enemies may ambush you out of nowhere. This is really only pronounced in the Easton Kingdom, where the enemy Tokotoko (running Tiki heads) run onscreen so fast that you barely have enough time to react. As I said, this almost never happens, but when it does, it's pretty annoying. Still, even though these issues do exist, they by no means ruin this game. Difficulty This game isn't the hardest Mario game ever made, but it doesn't hold your hand, either. The levels (especially the later ones) can be reasonably challenging, but never so brutal that the game becomes unfair. Honestly, this game is probably a little easier than Super Mario Land 2, mostly because it's shorter and has more basic level design. The bosses are no different. They're probably the easiest bosses in any 2D Mario game. They're all essentially Bowser from the original Super Mario Bros. in that all you have to do is dodge their attacks and hit a killswitch. The final boss against Tatanga is definitely the hardest in the game - you're in a plane and have to dodge Tatanga's bullets. It's still not super hard, but it's way more challenging than the other bosses. He's definitely a way better boss in this game that the fight against him in Mario Land 2, that I can tell you. Overall, this game is designed very well and has very strong difficulty balancing - it's accessible enough for new players, while being challenging enough for more experienced platforming veterans. Conclusion In conclusion, this game is great. It is without a doubt one of the best Game Boy games and one of my new personal favorite Mario games. It's far from perfect and not quite as good as Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, nor is it as good as its successor, but that doesn't matter to me. This game deserves to be remembered alongside those greats and it's still one of my favorite games in the series. In fact, I enjoyed this game way more than both Super Mario Galaxy games. Yeah, I just said that. Those games, especially Galaxy 2, are damn good, but I find this game to be way more fun and replayable than those will ever be. That will more than likely piss several people off, but that's honestly how I feel. And for a game this short, that's quite impressive to me. Now for what comes after ''this ''review, I'm again unsure. As I stated in my Super Mario Advance review, the games on my personal list include Spyro the Dragon, the Crash Bandicoot trilogy, Pac-Man World, Pac-Man World 2, Earthworm Jim, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, the first three Ratchet & Clank games, Sonic Mega Collection Plus, Super Mario All-Stars, Banjo-Tooie, Luigi's Mansion, Super Castlevania IV, Super Metroid, Starfox, Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Jak & Daxter : The Precursor Legacy, and potentially various Atari 2600, NES, XBOX 360, PS2, PS3, or Wii games I won't list because this is getting too long. Whatever I review next, I'll see you all next time. Category:Blog posts